As he heard Mr Weasley's footsteps coming down the stairs Harry shot to his feet unsure of why he was bothering with this unnecessary formality. Suddenly very nervous he wiped his sweaty palms down the side of his pants and tried to find something to look at besides his falling apart trainers. His eyes came to rest on the floating knitting needles clacking away in the corner making a red sweater seemingly of their own accord.
He continued watching the needles until he heard Mr Weasley's voice from behind him.
"Harry, you wanted to see me?"
Harry was trembling. He had talked to Mr Weasley countless times before, but this time, overcome with nerves, he didn't have any idea what to say.
"er-um well you see, Mr Weas- er Arthur" he finally broke the lengthy silence "well um i was just wondering doyouthinkthaticanmaybehaveyourpermissiontoaskGinnytomarryme?" He said this so quickly it would have been impossible for even Hermione to understand. Mr Weasley looked confused and then said
"Come again?" Harry thought that his best option at this point would be to start over completely. Slowing down considerably he said,
"Mr Weasley, you know the past couple of years have been hard for me. And I know that they've been hard on you and your family as well. In some ways, life after Voldemort is just as bad as it was when he was in power. But there is one person who has helped me through this more than anybody else" Mr Weasley thought he knew where this conversation was heading. "In the past two years Ginny has become more than my best friend. I love her truly, with all my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. So can I please have your permission to ask Ginny to marry me, to walk her down the aisle, and to make a life with her?" Harry finished, he was quite pleased with his speech and he could feel the tremor in his hands dying down.
Mr Weasley looked at Harry with a smile in his eyes.
"Welcome to the family."